Hi soonermom! We start our 1988 master bath remodel next week. We built the house and chose (at the time) a lovely dark blue tile on the counter top and the surround on the the monster sized whirlpool. Our bath is big but yours is huge! I can't wait to get rid of the blue tile (grout bad - never again) We too have white grout. As to woulda, shoulda, coulda, - I'm sticking with a more neutral pallet this time and the pics on this site have inspired me!! Not much help with your decisions as we are just starting -but lots of encouragement and sympathy. Will follow your reno!

I'm not sure how many of these posts refer to tile/grout decisions, but you might find lots of good info and ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Best bathroom decisions thread

We did botticino marble with mushroom grout. It is all really really neutral and calming. I posted some pics in June. The tile looks sort of pinkish in the pics but it is actually beige--not a hint of pink in it. We are very happy with it.

We did 2 full bathroom guts this year. Best decision was using high quality porcelain tiles for floor and shower areas. They look great, are almost impossible to damage and require no upkeep. In one of the baths we used white grout on the shower walls. I may end up being sorry about that, but the bathroom is not a heavily used one, so hopefully it will wear OK.

Another decision that made me happy was going with some color instead of doing totally neutral baths. One of our baths has sea green 12x12's on the floor, and to me it looks a little retro and a little new at the same time. In the other I did an accent wall of crackle green ceramics. I'm not one who subscribes to the "add a pop of color with your paint and towels" philosophy, and I went with what I was drawn to.

I used 24x24 white tiles in the room with 0 grout line and love it. "less grout" no nooks and crannies to clean! Neutral timeless design love it. I will post photo's one day!